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Sarasota ties record low at 35 degrees

Published: Monday, February 18, 2013 at 10:47 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, February 18, 2013 at 3:37 p.m.

SARASOTA - Florida's fragile crops of oranges and other fruits and vegetables appear to have weathered Monday morning's cold snap, which brought record-tying lows to Sarasota and Bradenton as area farmers took measures to fight a potential freeze.

The record-tying low of 35 degrees at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport came as jolt in a warmer-than-normal winter, including much of January, which saw a run of record-breaking highs. The low matched a mark set in 1977.

Florida farmers are expecting healthy crops of strawberries and vegetables, but citrus growers are worried the two extremes of weather — the warm that produced month-early blooms and the cold that slows fruit production — could lead to a difficult harvest.

“We're going to have to wait and see what happens,” said Barbara Carlton, a spokeswoman for the Peace River Valley Citrus Growers Association.

“This is a very unusual early bloom,” she added.

Though early blooms could be allayed by prospects for a second bloom later in the year, farmers could face varying maturities in the fruit that will make harvesting laborious and costly.

But Carlton says the weekend's bite left only small patches of frost on trees.

“We had temperatures as low as 27 reported, but not for any extended period of time,” she said. “So far so good.”

Temperatures dropped into the upper 20s north of Tampa Bay and inland areas also saw experienced freezing or below cold after midnight Sunday.

A cold front that moved through over the weekend dropped temperatures substantially below the normal low mark of about 53 degrees for time time in February.

According to the National Weather Service, North Port dropped below freezing.

But the cold was fleeting. The temperature climbed back to 70 degrees at the Sarasota-Bradenton airport Monday afternoon, close to the normal high of 73 degrees. the low tonight is expected to be 58 degrees, with highs by Friday and the weekend reaching back into the 80s.

The specter of freezing or below freezing temperatures had the state's fruit and vegetable farmers taking precautions to limit damage to crops over the weekend.

For strawberry farmers, the damage was minimal, said Ted Campbell, executive director of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association.

“As far as strawberries, it was really a non-event,” Campbell said. “It wasn't cold enough to do any damage.”

<p><em>SARASOTA</em> - Florida's fragile crops of oranges and other fruits and vegetables appear to have weathered Monday morning's cold snap, which brought record-tying lows to Sarasota and Bradenton as area farmers took measures to fight a potential freeze.</p><p>The record-tying low of 35 degrees at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport came as jolt in a warmer-than-normal winter, including much of January, which saw a run of record-breaking highs. The low matched a mark set in 1977.</p><p>Florida farmers are expecting healthy crops of strawberries and vegetables, but citrus growers are worried the two extremes of weather — the warm that produced month-early blooms and the cold that slows fruit production — could lead to a difficult harvest.</p><p>“We're going to have to wait and see what happens,” said Barbara Carlton, a spokeswoman for the Peace River Valley Citrus Growers Association.</p><p>“This is a very unusual early bloom,” she added. </p><p>Though early blooms could be allayed by prospects for a second bloom later in the year, farmers could face varying maturities in the fruit that will make harvesting laborious and costly.</p><p>But Carlton says the weekend's bite left only small patches of frost on trees.</p><p>“We had temperatures as low as 27 reported, but not for any extended period of time,” she said. “So far so good.”</p><p>Temperatures dropped into the upper 20s north of Tampa Bay and inland areas also saw experienced freezing or below cold after midnight Sunday.</p><p>A cold front that moved through over the weekend dropped temperatures substantially below the normal low mark of about 53 degrees for time time in February.</p><p>According to the National Weather Service, North Port dropped below freezing.</p><p>But the cold was fleeting. The temperature climbed back to 70 degrees at the Sarasota-Bradenton airport Monday afternoon, close to the normal high of 73 degrees. the low tonight is expected to be 58 degrees, with highs by Friday and the weekend reaching back into the 80s.</p><p>The specter of freezing or below freezing temperatures had the state's fruit and vegetable farmers taking precautions to limit damage to crops over the weekend.</p><p>For strawberry farmers, the damage was minimal, said Ted Campbell, executive director of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association.</p><p>“As far as strawberries, it was really a non-event,” Campbell said. “It wasn't cold enough to do any damage.”</p>